HISTORY: THE FIRST BLACKS IN CONGRESS WERE ALL REPUBLICANS (photos, bios)

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – FIRST BLACKS WERE ALL REPUBLICANS Republicans – the racists? In 1868, Republicans elected the first black person to represent them in Congress. There were no black Democrats in Congress until 1935. For almost seven decades Republicans were the ONLY ONES electing blacks to Congress. Here are the historical facts:
John Willis Menard (1838-1893); Republican – Louisiana; Term: 1868			Joseph Rainey (1832-1887); Republican – South Carolina; Term:1870-1879
Jefferson F. Long (1836-1901); Republican – Georgia; Term: 1870-1871			Robert C. De Large (1842-1874); Republican – South Carolina; Term: 1871-1873
Robert B. Elliott (1842-1884); Republican – South Carolina; Term: 1871-1874			Benjamin S. Turner (1825-1894); Republican – Alabama; Term: 1871-1873
Josiah T. Walls (1842-1905); Republican – Florida; Terms: 1871-1873, 1873-1875, 1875-1876			Richard H. Cain (1825-1887); Republican – South Carolina; Terms: 1873-1875, 1877-1879
John R. Lynch (1847-1939); Republican – Mississippi; Terms: 1873-1877, 1882-1883			James T. Rapier (1837-1883); Republican – Alabama; Term: 1873-1875
Alonzo J. Ransier (1834-1882); Republican – South Carolina; Term: 1873-1875			Jeremiah Haralson (1846-1916); Republican – Alabama; Term: 1875-1877
John Adams Hyman (1840-1891); Republican – North Carolina; Term: 1875-1877			Charles E. Nash (1844-1913); Republican – Louisiana; Term: 1875-1877
Robert Smalls (1839-1915); Republican – South Carolina; Terms: 1875-1879, 1882-1883, 1884-1887			James E. O’Hara (1844-1905); Republican – North Carolina; Term: 1883-1887
Henry P. Cheatham (1857-1935); Republican – North Carolina; Term: 1889-1893			John Mercer Langston (1829-1897); Republican – Virginia; Term: 1890-1891
Thomas E. Miller (1849-1938); Republican – South Carolina; Term: 1890-1891 (He was adopted by slaves)			George W. Murray (1853-1926); Republican – South Carolina; Terms: 1893-1895, 1896-1897
George Henry White (1852-1918); Republican – North Carolina; Term: 1897-1901

U.S. SENATE – FIRST BLACKS WERE ALL REPUBLICANS:
Hiram Rhodes Revels (1822-1901); Republican – Mississippi; Term: 1870-1871			Blanche Bruce (1841-1898); Republican – Mississippi; Term: 1875-1881

AND DEMOCRATS? UNTIL 1935 DID DEMOCRATS ELECT THE FIRST BLACK TO CONGRESS 67 years after Republicans is when Democrats elected the first African American to represent them in Congress. Arthur Wergs Mitchell  Democrat Representative – Illinois Term: 1935–1943 Democrats’ Racist Past